As if war wasn’t enough, Sudan’s Darfur region is now being hit with the country’s deadliest cholera outbreak in years. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says at least 40 people have died just in the past week, with over 2,300 patients treated in Darfur alone.
Nationwide, the numbers are staggering: nearly 100,000 suspected cases and more than 2,400 deaths since last August.
Cholera is spread through dirty water and food — and in Darfur, where millions of people have been forced from their homes by the brutal conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF paramilitary, access to clean water is almost nonexistent. Families in displacement camps often survive on less than half the emergency minimum water supply. Many are forced to drink from contaminated wells — sometimes even after bodies have been found inside them.
“On top of an all-out war, people in Sudan are now experiencing the worst cholera outbreak the country has seen in years,” MSF said.
The fighting around el-Fasher, Darfur’s last major army-held city, has intensified, cutting civilians off from aid and sanitation. Heavy rains have only made things worse, contaminating water supplies and destroying sewage systems. And because people keep fleeing across borders, cases are now spreading into Chad and South Sudan.
Aid groups are scrambling. A 10-day vaccination campaign just launched in Khartoum, but MSF staff on the ground warn the situation is “beyond urgent.”
The war itself has already killed over 40,000 people and displaced around 12 million. Now, a disease that should be preventable is adding another layer of tragedy.
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